U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards has secured several million dollars in federal funding for local projects, including $12.2 million for a new headquarters building for an Army brigade based in Bryan, his office announced this week.
The House passed the 2010 appropriations bill 221-202 Thursday, receiving no support from Republicans. A Senate vote is expected over the weekend. Edwards' office said it is expected to pass.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill has 5,224 home-state projects -- or earmarks -- worth nearly $3.9 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group.
These are "projects that come from local leaders, mayors and sheriffs and research universities in our district," said Josh Taylor, an Edwards spokesman. "As such, these are investments that have a positive impact on the local economy and the daily lives of families and individuals in our district."
Paul Rieger, chair of the Brazos County Republican Party, said some of the projects appear to be worthy, but that the No. 1 priority should be balancing the budget.
"We cannot spend money that we don't have," he said. "How far do we have to be in debt before it is clearly understood that we simply do not have the money to be spending on these projects? ... The United States of America is virtually bankrupt."
The current 420th Engineer Brigade Reserve Center, built in 1958, has cracked floors, damaged ceilings and walls, and is considered unsafe due to the instability of the foundation, officials said.
The new facility for the brigade, which returned to Bryan after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, will rest on eight acres and have a library, learning center, vault, weapons simulator and fitness area for four reserve Army units, officials said.
"Ensuring our service men and women have the best facilities in which to train and live is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do," Edwards said. "In an all-volunteer military force, we cannot expect to attract and retain the best and brightest if we do not provide quality training facilities."
The House bill passed Thursday also includes:
* $1.3 million for rapid response training administered by Texas A&M state agency Texas Engineering Extension Service. Kimberly Munley, the officer who shot the Fort Hood gunman, went through the program.
* $400,000 for The District, a public transportation provider, to go toward construction of the downtown transit terminal and parking facility next to the Brazos County Courthouse.
* $200,000 for the Brazos County Sheriff's Department to help improve coordination among emergency personnel by upgrading communications technology. This, officials say, will ensure quicker response times.
* $750,000 for robotics research at Texas A&M. The space engineering and robotics technologies will help exploration for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
* $500,000 for the Texas Forensic Science Academy, a joint effort by Texas A&M and the Texas Engineering Extension Service to educate law enforcement, lawyers and judges about proper crime scene investigation, evidence collection and courtroom presentation.
* $100,000 to improve communication in the Grimes County Sheriff's Department and $150,000 for clinical monitoring stations at Grimes St. Joseph Health Center in Navasota, which officials say will allow visual monitoring of patients from one location.
* $100,000 for Hearne to improve communications technology to help with quicker response times.
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